|
|
|
Casino Improvement Index
|
|
|
Ellis Communications, Inc. - NEWS STORY
|
|
Size and Length Do Matter for
Employee Training At Casinos |
For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2007 |
Contact: Lydia Baird
Robinson & Associates, Inc.
Phone (206) 774-8856
E-Mail:
lbaird@casinocustomerservice.com
|
|
|
|
|
Size and length do matter –
when it comes to providing casino employees with successful
guest service training.
An effective training program is part of the overall process of
making internal improvements at casinos to boost the property’s
performance.
“I work with a number of casinos across the country and I’m
usually asked questions about the size of training classes and
length of the training sessions,” says Martin R. Baird, chief
executive officer of Annapolis, Maryland-based Robinson &
Associates. “These are important questions because they
and other related factors can determine the success or failure
of the training.”
Baird offers the following tips on how gaming properties can use
size and length to their advantage in guest service training.
Number 1: Keep the size of the class to about 40 people. “For
training to be successful, attendees must participate and they
have difficulty doing that in large classes,” Baird says. “With
a group of 40 attendees, people have an opportunity to actively
participate and speak up.”
Number 2: Match the size of the room to the number of
participants and the activities you want them to do. “People
feel lost and intimidated in a large room that seats far more
than the number of participants,” Baird notes. “Likewise, if the
room is not large enough to accommodate the class, people can’t
get comfortable and they find it difficult to participate.”
Number 3: Make the session long enough to get the information
across without becoming repetitive. “Some properties think
training should be done in eight-hour increments to match the
workday,” Baird points out. “A workday and a training day are
not the same thing. Base the length of the training on what you
want people to learn.”
Number 4: Avoid sessions that are too short. “Trying to cover
three hours of material in two hours is a waste of everyone’s
time,” Baird says. “It can take 45 minutes to an hour for a
group to get warmed up and start taking part in the training. Be
sure you have enough time to cover the material beyond that
point.”
Number 5: Hold modules to a reasonable length of time. “Modules
are organized sections of the training and if they’re too long,
they lose impact,” Baird says. “People who go through training
need to see progress in the form of a beginning, a middle and an
end. Properly planned modules give participants that feeling of
progress.”
Number 6: Avoid long lectures. “The mind can only absorb as much
as the backside can endure,” Baird notes. “I’m not a fan of
lectures but they may be needed to some extent and a trainer who
drones on and on will lose the participants very quickly.”
Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a global customer service
consulting firm for the gaming industry. It helps casinos
determine their Advocate Index, a number that indicates the
extent to which properties have guests who are willing to be
advocates. The company then implements its Advocate Development
System in combination with the proven methodology of Advocate
Index and best business practices to help casinos create more
guest advocates and chart a course for growth and profitability.
Robinson & Associates may be reached by phone at 480-991-6420,
by e-mail at mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com or via its Web
sites at www.advocatedevelopmentsystem.com and
www.casinocustomerservice.com.
Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management
Association and an associate member of the National Indian
Gaming Association. |
|
|
